


Beyond Our Control

by cluelessrebel1988



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Aftermath, Fallout, Friendship, Gen, Hayward gets some comeuppance, Hurt/Comfort, Jimmy and Monica bonding, Major spoilers for Episode 6, Male-Female Friendship, badass Jimmy Woo, badass Monica Rambeau, because fuck that guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29388936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cluelessrebel1988/pseuds/cluelessrebel1988
Summary: An extended scene with Monica and Jimmy during and after the events at the end of WandaVision episode 6
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & Monica Rambeau & Jimmy Woo, Jimmy Woo & Monica Rambeau
Comments: 4
Kudos: 141





	Beyond Our Control

Monica Rambeau wasn’t a big talker, so Jimmy Woo wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t said much to him as they drove away from the SWORD basecamp, heading out to meet her contact. Normally, that might have bothered him a bit, and he might have attempted some awkward small talk, or maybe he would have asked about what Hayward had said to her about her mother, but he sensed that Monica wouldn’t really go for the former and _definitely_ didn’t want to talk about the latter right now.

And honestly, he was okay with that. It gave him a chance to try to run through everything they knew about what was going on, see if there was a new angle he hadn’t considered...or work out what they might need to do if Monica’s contact came through and could get them inside the hex. Or at least, that’s what he tried to do. His thoughts kept going back to Darcy and how they’d left her there alone. Not that he was worried she couldn’t handle herself if she had to, but it was a risky situation, leaving her without some kind of backup. He and Monica were going to meet someone she knew and trusted. Darcy was in the middle of a base where they weren’t welcome anymore and was trying to hack into some highly classified intel. It went against nearly every instinct he had as an FBI agent.

“You know she took down Thor with a taser, right?.”

He looked over at Monica, noticing that she was looking over at him, a thin smile on her face.

“She...What?”

“Darcy. She zapped the god of thunder and just...laid him out. All within two minutes of meeting him. She didn’t tell you about that?”

He shook his head, turning to look out the windshield at the road ahead. “No, I...I didn’t know that.”

“Huh,” Monica said, eyeing him curiously. “She usually loves telling that story.” She shrugged and turned her eyes back to the road. “I guess you’ll just have to ask her about it when we get back.”

They rode in silence for a moment, then he turned and looked at her again. “I’m sorry, how did you know I was thinking about Darcy?” he asked.

“Because you’ve got a terrible poker face, Agent Woo. And because I’ve been doing the same thing for the past ten minutes.”

Jimmy blinked in surprise. “You...you have?”

“Hell yes,” Monica said, sounding a little offended that he would even ask. “I don’t like leaving people behind any more than you do. But we need to know what Hayward is up to, and she’s the only one who can find out. Besides, if she gets caught, the worst they’re going to do to her is lock her up.”

She had a point. It didn’t make him feel any better about the situation, though.

“Look, if I thought for a second that she would be in any actual danger, I wouldn’t have left her there alone,” Monica continued as if sensing that he still had doubts. “And if you really thought she might be in danger there, you would have insisted on staying with her, or insisted that she come with us.”

Another really good point, Jimmy thought. And one that actually did help him relax a bit. When Darcy had first insisted on staying and trying to get past Hayward’s firewall, it had made sense to him. So why was he starting to question that instinct now?

“Jimmy...do you see that?” Monica asked, stirring him from his thoughts. He looked over and saw that she was looking out at the side mirror at something behind them. Frowning, he turned in his seat, looking out the backdoor of the humvee.

Down the road behind them, he could see the barrier to the hex, still with its red glow. But something was different. Monica seemed to have noticed the same thing, but she got to the answer quicker than he did. 

“It’s moving.”

A twinge of panic gripped at Jimmy’s heart, but he quickly pushed it down as he turned back to face the windshield, shouting for Monica to “Go, go go!” as he did so. She was already flooring it and trying to outrun the barrier as it loomed behind them, moving fast and swallowing up more of the area surrounding New Jersey. The hex was expanding. 

Jimmy wasn’t sure how long it was before the barrier finally stopped and they started to pull away from it. Monica noticed too as she slowed to a stop at the top of the next hill. Without speaking, they both got out of the humvee and took in the latest development. 

It took him a minute to find his voice as he stared at the red wall. “What...what happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Monica replied, sounding as dumbfounded as he felt. “But it wasn’t anything good.” 

He turned to look at her. “Do...do you think Darcy made it out?”

She didn’t say anything, which was an answer in and of itself. Somehow he wasn’t surprised, and he realized that he’d asked in hopes of having her tell him he was wrong to worry about her. He turned to look back at the barrier and let out a small sigh.

“Come on,” Monica said, turning back to the humvee. “Let’s get going.”

Jimmy looked over his shoulder. “Going?”

“Yeah, going,” Monica replied. “The plan hasn’t changed. Now...we just have a lot more people to save.”

Jimmy nodded and looked back to the barrier one more time. He was about to start back to the humvee when he saw a pair of headlights coming up the road. 

“Monica!” he called, getting her attention and pointing to them. “Looks like someone made it out.”

“Good,” she said, moving to stand next to him. “Maybe we can get some answers.”

They watched as the headlights got closer, waving as it approached in hopes of getting the driver’s attention. At first Jimmy wasn’t sure it was going to work as whoever it was seemed to be driving incredibly fast. Not that he could blame them, given what had just happened. The vehicle whizzed past them and for a moment, he thought they weren’t going to stop, but he suddenly saw the red of the brake lights and heard the screeching of tires as the vehicle, now illuminated by the humvee’s headlights, came to a stop. The passenger door on the SUV opened and out stepped the last person he or Monica wanted to see at that moment.

“What the hell are you two doing here?!” Director Hayward demanded, storming toward them with a fury in his eyes. “I thought I had you and that scientist friend of yours escorted off my base, and then I find out she’s snuck back in?!”

“You saw Darcy?” Jimmy asked. 

“What happened back there?” Monica asked at the same time.

“You are in so much trouble, Rambeau,” Hayward continued, ignoring both of them. “I’m going to have you reassigned to a research station in Norway. And you,” he growled, turning to Jimmy. “Your bosses will be hearing about your insubordination and misconduct here today, so good luck ever leaving Quantico again, assuming you even still have a job in the morning.”

“What happened?” Monica asked again, shouting over Hayward. “We saw the barrier moving. What is going on, Director?!”

“It was Vision,” came a voice, causing all three agents to look back toward the SUV. It turned out Hayward wasn’t alone. Two other SWORD agents, a man and a woman, had also apparently gotten away from the barrier. Both of them appeared to be in a mild state of shock. Not that Jimmy could blame them.

“He came through the barrier,” the woman continued. “He...he seemed weak, or in pain, like...somehow he couldn’t survive outside of the hex. I...I think he was calling for help…” She shook her head. “Then...the barrier started moving toward us.”

Jimmy and Monica exchanged glances while Hayward just fumed in the middle of the highway. “Did...did anyone else get out?” Monica asked. The woman shook her head.

“What about Darcy...Dr. Lewis?” Jimmy prompted. “Did you see what happened to her?”

The agents exchanged looks, then the male hesitantly spoke. “The...the last time we saw her...she was handcuffed to a vehicle.”

Monica tensed and turned on Hayward. “You handcuffed her to a vehicle?” she said in a low voice.

“She was trying to interfere,” Hayward replied. “She wouldn’t have been in any trouble if you two hadn’t snuck her back in and left her there.” 

Jimmy saw Monica’s hand curl into a fist and he instinctively moved between her and the director. “Don’t,” he warned her. “He’s not worth it.”

Monica glared over Jimmy’s shoulder at him, then turned away with a frustration. 

“That’s probably the smartest decision you’ve made all week,” Hayward said. Monica turned toward him again, but Jimmy gave a small shake of his head to warn her off. He then turned around and threw a hard right cross at Hayward, catching him in the jaw and knocking him to the ground. He then turned and made his way back to Monica, who was barely concealing a grin. She stepped past Woo and made her way over to Hayward, crouching down next to him.

“We didn’t leave her there,” she said.

Hayward looked up at her with a mix of rage and confusion. “What?”

“Darcy. We didn’t leave her there. She volunteered to stay behind.”

“And why would she do that?”

Monica shook her head. “That’s not important,” she said. “The point is, she could have been out here with us and she volunteered to stay...and now she’s trapped in the hex, along with the hundreds of agents and civilian consultants you left behind. Tell me, did you even try to uncuff her from that vehicle, or were you too busy trying to save your own ass?”

Hayward glared at her, but didn’t answer. 

“That’s what I thought,” she said. She stood up and shook her head. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you.” She turned and walked back toward the humvee where Jimmy was waiting for her.

“Nice form,” she said as she reached his side. “But you should have let me hit him.”

“And give him an excuse to fire you? I don’t think so.”

She gave him a small smile and grabbed the handle of the driver’s door. Jimmy nodded and walked around to the other side of the car.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hayward called, getting to his feet.

“We have a plan to get inside the hex and try to save everyone,” Monica said as she opened the door to the humvee. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like. If not, I suggest you stay out of our way.”

“You can’t just --”

“We tried it your way, Director,” she continued as she climbed into the vehicle. “Now we’re going to try it mine.” 

Without waiting for his response, she started the humvee and drove off.

After a moment, she pulled out her phone and handed it to Jimmy. “Text the top number,” she said. “There’s been a development, we’re running late, and I’ll explain when we get there.” Jimmy nodded and quickly typed out the message, then handed back the phone. 

“You’re sure this plan is going to work?” he asked.

“As sure as I am that Hayward’s a prick.”

Jimmy let out a small laugh, but quickly stopped when he saw that Monica wasn’t smiling.

“And...what if it doesn’t?”

Monica looked over at him with a determined expression. “Then we come up with a new plan,” she said. “We don’t leave people behind, remember?” In her eyes, Jimmy thought he saw a hint of guilt and, almost on instinct, tried to dispel it.

“It’s not your fault,” he said. “Like you said, she wanted to stay to stop Hayward...and it sounds like whatever happened to make Wanda extend the barrier came from inside it, so it probably would have happened even if she’d come with us.”

Monica studied him for a moment. “Are you trying to convince me...or yourself?” she asked.

The question stung a little, but it was a valid one. He just wasn’t sure of the answer. After a moment, they both turned their attention back to the road and lapsed into a somber silence.


End file.
